Author: ingab

I was going to post this originally on 9 November, but life got in the way.  You know how that is..

The Unthinkable Has Actually Happened…

Great swathes of the American population really are dumb…  !!!

The new President-Elect is nothing short of a border-line, racist, misogynistic socio-psychopath whose election will set America’s international standing back by years.  Uncouth, unpolished and unable to brook any form of criticism / opposition;  this does not bode well for future international relationships.

Haven’t heard a squeak from him about this election being rigged and neither has he called for a re-assessment – now that he has won.  Somehow, I don’t think he’ll be doing so..  (although subsequent reports indicate that he still – erroneously – believes in voter fraud)..

The only possible ‘good’ thing to come out of this very sorry affair is the fact that, rather like Brexit, the votes for Donald Trump have shaken up the very complacent (political) establishment.

Although whether this will actually produce any good, tangible and lasting result is another matter entirely and the status quo will probably end up as more of the ‘same old, same old’..

If he really wishes to isolate America from the rest of the world, well, let’s hope that he’ll also stop American interference in arenas where it has no business to be.  Unfortunately, because money talks – and very loudly – in the States, this will probably not be a viable option.

So far, his choice of potential cabinet members – or whatever they call his advisers over here – doesn’t look too promising.  Some rabid right-wingers and possible nepotism where his family is concerned;  a family that, like their father doesn’t appear to have any political experience whatsoever.  However, to a country seemingly obsessed by ‘reality stars’ and celebrity status. minor details like actual ability to govern and quality of diplomacy when dealing with heads of states are, apparently, of no consequence.

Let’s all hope that the future isn’t as bleak as I am currently feeling it will be..

And, now (briefly) on to Brexit..

Despite the farter’s (the President-Elect of the USA – now sadly, President) unfortunate endorsement of Brexit, I really don’t understand why so many people in Britain continue to think that remaining in the unwieldy behemoth that currently comprises the EU is a good thing.  Yes, free movement of trade is definitely a positive;  however, weighed against the stifling bureaucracy of Brussels – not to mention the increasingly stringent regulations and laws emerging from that city – it is definitely a good thing that we are leaving.

Indeed, we should never have turned our backs on the Commonwealth countries so readily.  Except that from what I understand, we weren’t able to trade with them freely once we joined the then EEC – all because of directives coming out of Brussels that prevented us from doing so.  Not helped by British civil servants’ and jobworthies’ willingness to implement these new rules and regulations with gusto.

So unlike many of their European counterparts – especially those in France – who often merely appeared to embrace whatever directive was being issued – when it suited them – and when it didn’t, gave a  typical Gallic shrug (or whatever their nationality deemed to express indifference) and went on doing exactly what they had always done.

At least now – if it isn’t too late – we can start to open up avenues of communication again with our erstwhile trading partners once more and hopefully, find some new ones..

Okay, so I’m deviating from my intention to be a nicer person.  Definitely working on this – although it could take some time..

The man is stark, raving bonkers…!!  Apart from announcing that he plans to go ahead with building a wall along the border with Mexico, the lunatic has now said that there will be a 90-day ban on entry into the States for citizens of seven different (Muslim) countries – even if they are green-card holders.  As for refugees – many of whom are severely traumatised in the first place –  the ban is even longer..  Yet he has no problem opening businesses in some Muslim countries when it suits him..

Chaos at USA airports and airports world-wide..

Trump patently can’t see that he is playing right into the hands of the terrorists and really harming America.   Yet he still has supporters who cannot – apparently – comprehend just what an idiot they elected.  Their belief (amongst others) that he is a ‘successful’ businessman doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny – despite the pathetic PR attempts to portray him as such.  However, when  things deteriorate – as they must if he remains in power – they will nevertheless find some way to justify their position.  Nero fiddling comes to mind…

What is really scary, though, is that Trump is starting to behave more like a dictator than the head of a country that purports to espouse ‘democracy’ – even though this term is actually misunderstood by many people.   Particularly because America was founded as a republic..

He continues to vilify the media that, actually really aren’t too great in the States anyway.  From my perspective, he is doing his best to muzzle freedom of speech in America even more than it has been in the past.  Probably because the media over here largely tend to dance to the tune of the owners of the conglomerates that own them.  With his attempts to manipulate what is reported –ref the awful Conway woman with her ‘alternative facts’ (read David Baldacci’s ‘The Whole Truth’ / ‘perception management’), his dreadful White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and his ultra-sensitivity to adverse criticism, Donald Trump is in danger of becoming totally paranoid.  I take this back;  he already is paranoid..

Make America great again?  With these policies, diktats and his own, conflicting business interests?  Are you bloody joking???

*  He has apparently now backed down from banning those UK passport holders who have dual citizenship in some of his ‘no-go’ countries.  What a mess…

Already just over half-way through the first month of what could be a very turbulent year world-wide, let alone in the States..

Only a couple more days to go before that ghastly buffoon takes office in the White House – God Help Us All..

How can he possibly talk about making America great again when he is making this country a laughing stock (and worse) in the eyes of much of the rest of the world.  His picks for government posts so far are – with one or two possible exceptions a bloody joke – not to mention nepotism (so I won’t).

However, because this is a New Year – albeit a Number One year – I have decided that in order to move my life forward in a more positive direction, I’m going to be working assiduously on being a kinder and more compassionate person – instead of reacting with anger to so many issues..  Not to say that constructive anger doesn’t have a place in our lives;  when it galvanises us into taking positive action to get away from / change circumstances that have become intolerable, this is a positive. However, the anger that the world is currently experiencing in so many places is very destructive.  This kind of anger only feeds on itself and gets magnified into drawing us into an ever increasing downward spiral.

Therefore – even looking at what lies ahead – Donald Trump really should be pitied – rather than reviled.  According to Ainslie Macleod, Trump is a young soul – operating from a position of fear – as are many of his supporters – who are also young souls.  However, in Trump’s case, Ainslie believes that Trump is almost beyond the pale – with possible dire consequences for our planet.

All the old souls currently inhabiting our Earth should work together to reflect those spiritual values that they’ve learned over many life-times;  if each of them does so, this will help to deflect a lot of the negativity that surrounds us on a daily basis.

Old souls also need to be active in their efforts and not remain as passive bystanders;  and yes, this does sometimes mean standing up for those timeless values that transcend current, prevailing fashions – even at the risk of being shouted down and / or vilified.

In addition, because human beings are – amongst other things – a jumble of electrical impulses, we do affect (and are also affected) by everyone with whom we come into contact – even if we don’t realise this on a conscious level..

As within, so without;  our outer world really does reflect what we’re feeling / thinking about constantly, so doesn’t it make sense to choose harmonious thoughts and feelings?  If we constantly check in to these feelings and thoughts, we should then be able to be more objective about our emotions and observe them dispassionately.  We’ll then be better able to choose our reactions to any given scenario instead of reacting automatically – and often adversely  – in a knee-jerk fashion.

Hopefully, we’ll choose understanding and tolerance over anger and resentment..

 

65 today.

Can’t believe I’ve made it this far.

If I’d realised that I’d still be alive at this age, I would have done a lot of things differently.  Or – maybe not.  Or possibly – if I’d had the knowledge that I do nowadays – not to mention belief in myself.

It has taken all this time to achieve even a basic level of confidence that so many others have had much earlier in their lives.  Better late than never, I suppose..

If I’m still alive this time next year, then I plan to have achieved a hell of a lot more than I’ve done in the past 10 years.  Since I arrived in the States, I seem to have stagnated – although, when I look back, I do see some personal development progress.  Just that it has taken so bloody long that sometimes I really do feel that I’m wading through invisible glue..

And I’m not being unduly macabre;  have had an abnormal abdominal CT finding and am currently waiting for my UK medics to review to see if it is something serious – or not..

What with my left hip sulking and causing a lot of pain and sleepless nights as a result – all because it wasn’t operated on earlier this year – I really do think this getting older lark sucks…

Just under one week to go before – hopefully – we’re all put out of our misery – pro tem.  Having said this, whoever gets elected could give us an entirely new reason to be miserable..

With the acrimonious, personal mud-slinging that has characterised the current presidential electoral campaign, US politics have sunk to an all-time low – from which America’s reputation and world-wide standing is going to take a long time to recover.  If at all…

This election has fielded two of the worst candidates to date.

How could the American people have allowed this to happen so that a once great country has  descended into such a farcical situation???  (well, it might be farcical if it weren’t so bloody serious)…  Mind you, if Kim Kardashian and other reality TV ‘stars’ are an example of whom people follow in the various media, then perhaps it isn’t all that surprising..

Both candidates are mendacious and less than honourable.  However, Trump comes across as a spoilt, ill-informed bombastic demagogue who sadly, also appears to have to tapped into the misogynistic streak that so many (American) men still harbour about women.  For me, the frightening thing is the number of people who believe his lies and false jingoism – without any solid evidence to back up his claims about ‘making America great again’.  How does he intend to do this??

As for Hillary;  well, back in the UK, we have a term for people like her and her followers:  ‘champagne socialists’.   Hypocrisy at its sparkling best..

Neither candidate has shone when it comes to setting out policies;  however, at least Clinton might have some ideas up her sleeve.  Whether these are for the good of the country is another matter.  However, Trump patently has no idea about how he might run America, should, God forbid, he actually get elected.  An absolute disaster in the making..

He has polarised a lot of America by appealing to the LCD of the population;  the section that doesn’t really think for themselves and is easily swept up into ‘mob’ hysteria by cleverly crafted appeals to their baser, uneducated natures..  He has even deluded some people who technically  consider themselves to be well-informed and educated – all because they read newspapers and listen to ‘talking heads’.  Again, though, many of these people actually don’t think for themselves either.

Trump’s threat to jail Hillary Clinton and his inability to brook any opposition is the behaviour of a potential tyrant and despot.  Forget democracy – which is anyway only really the beginning of the slippery road to dictatorship;  think of all those countries that have / had the word ‘Democratic’ in their names.

A very far cry from the Founding Fathers’ creation of a Republic back in the eighteenth century and, really, really scary…

 

 

A break, pro tem, from ranting about the forthcoming election.

A UK friend of mine sent this to me;  says it all.  Well, as far as I – and some of my friends are concerned..

“For those of my generation who do not and cannot comprehend why Facebook exists:  I am trying to make friends outside of Facebook while applying the same principles.

Therefore, every day I walk down the street and tell passers-by what I have eaten, how I feel at the moment, what I have done the night before, what I will do later, and with whom.  I give them pictures of my family, my dog, and of me gardening, taking things apart in the garage, watering the lawn, standing in front of landmarks, driving around town, having lunch, and doing what anybody and everybody does every day. Also, I listen to their conversations, give them the “thumbs up” and tell them I like them.

And it works just like Facebook.  I already have four people following me:  two police officers, a private investigator, and a psychiatrist”.

 

 

And it is my generation that is largely to blame for the appallingly mannered, obnoxious behaviour of their off-spring and grand-children – although my age group is also often far from perfect manner-wise.   Very few people nowadays seem to bring up their children to have any consideration for others;  it’s all me, me, me, me – and, what is worse is that the bloody parents encourage such egocentricity……

While nobody in their right minds would wish to return to the cruelty of past centuries, today’s society has become far too child-centric in pandering to the little pests’ idiosyncrasies..

Last Friday night (23 September 2016), I was out to dinner with a friend.  MY evening was ruined by the screaming of a child – probably around one year-18 months – at a table very close to ours.  The bloody mother did absolutely nothing to even try to quieten down the blighter, who, in fairness didn’t appear to be having a tantrum;  he was probably just over-tired and seeking attention.  So, why the hell was the child not in bed?  It was after 7.00pm..  And, even if the family had no access to a baby-sitter, why nevertheless, should the rest of us have had to tolerate its uncontrolled ‘exuberance’???

I was going to say something to the mother but my friend was really worried that this might escalate the situation;  not helped by the fact that the mother was African-American, so you can imagine where that might have gone..

What really surprised me was that nobody else appeared to be in the slightest bit disturbed by the noise.  And, even though it was a chain that represents itself as ‘family-friendly’, I still don’t believe that this soubriquet means that other diners should have to put up with excessive noise from children – especially in the evenings.

I did speak to the manager before we left;  she said that she wished we’d talked to her earlier.  At one point, my friend was all set to leave, but I didn’t see why WE should be the ones to go – although we might have been able to have been moved to another table had I spoken up sooner.  Next time, I shall – and if my friends don’t like my doing so, well tough.  The manager did give me two $5 vouchers for my next visit although, on reflection, I think she should have ‘comped’ us the entire meal.

I have written to the chain concerned about my EXTREME unhappiness because of this incident, so it will be interesting to hear what their response is – if they even bother to reply.

If they don’t and / or I don’t like their response, well, I simply won’t ever bother going to that chain again..

 

that it is finally time to stop being my own worst enemy and become my very best friend…

Says it all…  double click on the image to see the wording;  haven’t yet got the hang of how to enlarge inserts.  Just getting this cartoon into the post was a bloody nightmare..

I wonder which sycophantic idiot – or idiots – put the thought about running for President into Donald Trump’s head..??

It really is very sad that quite a number citizens of a once – okay maybe still – great country appear to be taking leave of their collective senses.  This includes those who might usually be considered normally as having some degree of rational thought…

Having said this, the choices with which they are faced in the upcoming presidential election are pretty uninspiring.  Notwithstanding the few straggling hopefuls still vying for a chance to be nominated, the ultimate choices are likely to boil down to two.

Bad and worse.

Just because DT is rich and has built a couple of business ‘empires’ does not automatically mean that he would actually know how to run a country.  He probably doesn’t really understand how to run a company either.  Properly, that is..

Did you know that the word ‘trump’ has another meaning (apart from beating an opponent in cards et al..)???  Yup, it means to fart.

And, that just about says it all..

Donald Trump is an egoistical, bombastic windbag whose gaseous discharges are usually noxious and offensive.  The thought of this singularly unattractive specimen getting into a pissing match with that other revoltingly porky leader (I refer, of course, to Kim Jong-un) should the former – God help us all – get elected as POTUS – doesn’t bear thinking about….

Remember ‘The War Game’, anyone??

And with Putin added to the unsavoury mix – aargh…!!!  I rest my case…

DT actually believes that he isn’t stupid.  In fairness, stupidity comes in all shapes and sizes and a person can be stupid in one area and clever in others.  (With a few exceptions, which of us doesn’t have at least one ‘blind’ spot somewhere in our make-up)??

However, anyone who can go on air and say that he isn’t divisive really needs to look in the mirror and get a grip.  (ref. his interview with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain -16 May – think it was 16 May;  wish I could have seen it, but would probably have thrown something at the TV – not a good idea).  Mind you, he often doesn’t appear to remember what he has said in the public arena, so this is hardly surprising..

And then he has the temerity to say that he was offended by some of the comments levelled against him – particularly from David Cameron and the new Mayor of London – Sadiq Khan.  REALLY??   Amazing how thin-skinned he is all of a sudden when he’s so adept at dishing out criticism.

Boo hoo ..